**Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters; please don't sue me I am a poor college student. I am not making any money off of this and I am just writing it for the benefit of my own entertainment as well as the entertainment of the other fans out there. Also, this is a story from my own imagination, any resemblance to real life events, or even those in fiction is completely coincidental. As an additional note, there are so many fan fiction stories out there on this site as well as others, so any similarity is coincidental or great minds just happen to think alike**
Note: I apologize for the spacing and random indents and anything of the sort. When the pages are loaded onto this site everything seems to get a bit messed up. I noticed that single lines get double spaced randomly. Sorry about that.
Through the Years
Chapter Five: You're invited to attend…
Rogue was awakened from her slumber by the feeling of familiar lips being pressed against hers. "Remy! Ya ol' scoundrel! Ya not suppose to be in here, ya know it's bad luck to see the bride before the weddin'!"
"Now you know I make my own luck Chere," the groom to be said with a wink. " 'Sides, I t'ought dat tradition pertained t'seein' the bride in her dress, and from what I can see, you are wearing no dress, and if I had my way, you'd be wearing less than you are right now."
"Is that a fact Swamp Rat? Well, as much as Ah'd love a little morning romp with ya, there's so much to do and so little time. So go on now…" with that she gave him a gentle shove, which he of course exaggerated making it seem like she had used her super strength.
"Aw Chere wait!" Gambit said as he rolled out of the bed with a thump. "I brought you some breakfast, see?" He motioned to the tray that he left on the nightstand, an omelet, a glass of orange juice, some fresh pieces of fruit, lightly buttered toast, and a rose in a small vase were carefully placed on a familiar institute tray. "Now, does dat change your mind?" His red-on black eyes with a hint of mischief in them stared back at her.
"Remy, that's so sweet of ya!" Rogue said with a smile. "But sorry shugah, as much as I love ya, I don't wanna see ya again today until we are at the altah. Got it?" Gambit silently got up off the floor and walked across the room. With a gentleman's bow Gambit left the room via the window, despite the fact that he came in through the door. Rogue shook her head and smiled at her Remy's flair for the dramatics. With a deep breath and a glance at her wedding dress hanging on the closet door, Rogue picked up the tray, put it on her lap, and began to eat.
She recalled the events of the last few days. The bachlorette party the female X-men had planned for her turned out to be one of the most entertaining evenings she had ever spent with the X-men. They had taken her to a local bar not far from the mansion. Just as the ladies had ordered their drinks and found seats, in walk the male X-men. Storm, Wolverine, Jean, and Scott exchanged glances that read "What are you doing here??"
Once the fact registered that both pre-wedding parties were planning on being there for the night the four of them began to speak at once making it hard to understand what any of them were saying. Rogue did catch something from Wolverine along the lines of "Well yer suppose to be a psychic!" That comment was directed at one visibly miffed Jean Grey.
Gambit and Rogue were unable to contain their laughter at the expense of their friends' lack of communication. It turned out that the mix up was the best thing to happen to either party. Music, dancing, drinks all around, and friends extended their congratulations to the happy couple. Then someone noticed the karaoke machine on the stage and all hell broke loose! It seemed as if nearly every member of the X-men tried his or her hand…er rather voice… on stage. Jean, Rogue, and a barely-old-enough-to-drink Jubilee convinced Storm to join them in their own rendition of "Lady Marmalade." Their performance received much praise and applause from the audience, especially the male members. Then a visibly tipsy Robert 'Bobby' Drake, noted clown of the X-men, tried to convince Wolverine of all people to join him in their own rendition of the song, but he had to settle for singing Shania Twain's "Man I Feel Like a Woman" by himself since his Canadian friend seemed less than thrilled with the idea of getting on that stage.
Rogue polished off the last piece of toast and proceeded to munch on the slices of fruit Gambit cut and placed delicately on the plate and around the bread. Her mind then drifted to the events of the previous night. Last night was the rehearsal dinner. It was just like the Bachelor/Bachelorette party, only a little more formal and a little smaller. Rogue recalled standing at the top of the steps with her escort thinking about how much seeing Gambit at that altar the next day was going to mean to her. It would mean that their love had truly overcome all the obstacles of the past and was ready to endure whatever was to come their way. Once Gambit, Rogue, and the wedding party members ran through their placement and positions of few times, they joined a number of their other friends in the dinning room for some dinner and socializing. The main topic of discussion, next to tomorrow's ceremony, was the antics of the Bachelor/ Bachelorette Party. Bobby, unaware of his antics the previous night, laughed along with the others when he found out what he did stating that "Knowing me, I'd probably do that sober!"
Just as Rogue was finishing the orange juice she heard a knock at her door. "Come in," she summoned. Ororo Munroe made her way through the entrance. She looked every bit the part of the African goddess that people made her out to be. She was already wearing her mauve dress for the ceremony and her hair was done up in an elegant twist. She was to be Rogue's maid of honor. She was not only very close to Gambit, but Rogue felt a special attachment to her because she was one of the first X-men to truly trust her when she joined the team so many years ago. It only seemed appropriate that someone with such a special relationship with the bride and the groom be asked to be the maid of honor. Rogue smiled as she recalled Gambit's reaction when she told him that Storm was to be her maid of honor: "Lucky for you Chere dat you asked her first," he had said with a smirk. "Cause if you didn't, I would have had Stormy be my best man!"
Storm's voice brought Rogue out of her memory. "I have come to see if you needed help getting ready for the ceremony," she said with the calmness that only Storm could muster when such a hectic day was ahead. "I know that you must be overwhelmed with everything that's been going on and I wanted to make sure to do whatever it is that I can to ensure that you enjoy every moment of this wonderful day," she explained to Rogue.
In fact it was a wonderful day, not only because of the fact that she would soon be married to her Remy, but because of a little atmospheric help from the local weather witch. Since it was January and the wedding was being held indoors, both Gambit and Rogue had hoped to have the slightest bit of snow outside to accent the windows and make a truly spectacular "winter wonderland" for their pictures outside in the garden. With a little help from Storm, they got their wish of a nice coating of snow, but only enough to make it pretty outside and not a traveling danger. The fact that the garden was in full bloom despite being surrounded by snow was definitely aided by Storm's abilities, but the end result was truly breathtaking!
"Thanks 'Ro, Ah think Ah can manage putting on the dress and doing mah hair, but Ah will need help with the zipper and Ah'd appreciate the company," Rogue said putting the breakfast tray back on the nightstand and proceeding to get out of the bed and step into the day to begin all others.
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This is it, the moment they had been waiting for. Newly ordained as a priest, Kurt 'Nightcrawler' Wagner was thrilled when Rogue and Gambit had asked him to preside over the ceremony. He stood at the altar by the fireplace. Next to him stood a very debonair Remy LeBeau wearing a perfectly fitted tux. His groomsmen were Bobby Drake, Hank McCoy, Lucas Bishop, and there was a space left open for the best man. He would be arriving shortly.
As the first strains of music began to play a set of elegantly dressed women descended down the stair case. Sage, Jubilee, Jean-Grey and Ororo Munroe came down the stairs carrying their flowers. Each woman wore a form-fitting mauve dress and carried a collection of exotic flowers that only Storm could have managed to grow at this time of year. They walked along the path of rose petals that had been marked by masking tape only hours before. Finally, the bride and her escort made their way to the top of the staircase. Before taking the first step down the stairs and to the altar Rogue looked around the room below. She had entered this room so many years ago as a scared teenager. She was trusted by no one and feared by most. Over time she developed into one of the most reliable and dedicated members of this team… no… family. After all, that's what everyone present was to her. Some of the faces looking out at her were those who had been there since day one. They watched her grow up to become the woman she was today. Others, like Paint and Marie D'Ancanto, were new friends, people who eventually become part of her family. Then she saw Remy, the one person who she trusted with her life and her heart. If nothing else, he was all the family she ever needed. Rogue looked to the man at her side, the one who was "giving her away." That man had watched over her for nearly as long as she had been an X-man. He taught her so much about life, he was the first person she told of her love for Remy. When she and Gambit had been dying, he was willing to sacrifice his own life for hers. If there was ever a father figure in her life, he was it. She looked at him and gave his arm a squeeze, then she asked, "Ready Logan?" "Ready Darlin'," he said returning the squeeze.
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Remy watched as the bridesmaids made their way to their side of the altar. He couldn't wait to see Rogue, knowing that she would be beautiful, even if she decided to come down those stairs in sweatpants and a T-shirt. He wasn't kidding. The crowded stood and turned to see the bride descend the stairs with Wolverine. She was truly a vision! Her dress was reminiscent of the Victorian style. It had a sheer neckline and loose flowing, sheer sleeves. Avoiding a traditional white due to her pale complexion, she opted for a cream colored dress which accented her delicate white skin. She wore delicate gloves that accented the dress nicely. Her hair, which had grown long in the last few month, was loose and wavy over her shoulders. She didn't were a veil, joking that the white steak was enough of a veil for her. Everything about her seemed to glow and Gambit felt a smile creep across his face; he wanted nothing more than to run to her, take her into his arms, and tell her how much he loved her. As Logan placed Rogue's gloved hand in Gambit's he looked at them both and said "Take good care of each other." He then proceeded to take his spot as best man.
The ceremony proceeded without a hitch, although Kurt was getting a little nervous about the final part of the ceremony. The wedding had been a bit of a surprise and he didn't really have a chance to review the final ceremony with the couple. Even at the rehearsal the night before, the only went through the motions, not the entire ceremony itself. It didn't even register that he should have asked the couple if they wanted him to omit the "kiss the bride part" but Gambit had slipped the ring over Rouge's gloved hand, perhaps he intended to kiss her hand as well? He trusted that they realized that line was still in the ceremony, they HAD to know, right? He couldn't believe that he was overanalyzing this small sentence in his head while Remy and Rogue said their vows to each other. Kurt Wagner had been honored that they chose him to preside over the ceremony. He couldn't think of any couple that he'd rather perform his first, of hopefully many wedding ceremonies, for. Though she was technically his foster sister, Kurt had grown fairly close to Rogue time, and he looked forward to getting even closer in the future. That was one goal he had for himself, after all, she was family.
All too quickly the end of the ceremony seemed to be in sight. Any prior apprehensions about those six little words seemed to fly from his mind as Kurt kept his eyes on the couple before him and said "You may now kiss zee bride." Remy reached for Rogue's hand and made like was going to kiss it, and with a wink from his bride, Remy swung her into a dip and planted a passionate kiss on her lips. A gasp registered from the gathered friends, and when the kiss ended and the bride was firmly back on her feet, Nightcrawler couldn't help but exclaim, "You CAN kiss zee bride?!" The priest quickly regained his composer and finished the ceremony. "I am honored and personally thrilled to present to you for zee first time Mr. and Mrs. LeBeau." With that everyone gathered rose to their feet and cheered as loud as they could. For Rogue and her husband, that was the best wedding present they could have asked for.
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Author's Note: Wow, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I wrote this before chapter four and put in chapter four as an afterthought when I realized I can't really skip to the wedding without a way of showing how they got to the mansion. That would be pretty silly and confusing after all. As for Nightcrawler presiding over the ceremony, I'm pretty sure he would be allowed to wed Gambit and Rogue since Gambit had an annulment and not a divorce. But I tend to be too technical and overanalyze things like that, so don't mind me:-P
Tammy~ Yeah, it would have been interesting to see Belle's reaction, but I think Gambit and Rogue rather liked having a drama free wedding, don't you? However, that doesn't mean Belladonna's gone forever, after all what fun would that be *wink, wink for a possible future appearance of her, but don't hold me to it just yet, I haven't gotten that far to see if what I have planned is going to work**
Isandahalf~ Trust me, I love seeing Gambit and Rogue happy too, I think that they have too much tragedy in the comics in terms of their relationship. I'm not too fond of Belladonna either for the sheer fact that she was once married to Gambit and she wanted harm to come to him! I greatly dislike Joseph for the sheer fact that he was competition for Gambit for Rogue's interest. Luckily he's dead and I don't have to include him *does happy dance*. Sorry, that was mean and uncalled for. *ashamed* Anyway as for keeping the touching a secret until the wedding and freaking everyone out, I guess I'm too predictable, huh. I read your comment and nearly fell out of my chair because I had done chapter five before chapter four so I found that pretty funny.
Jukebox~ As you can see, no real wedding disaster in this fic, unless you count Bobby's singing at the party, haha. As for them sharing a wound as a cause of the immunity, that's as good of a guess as any. Out dear Dr. McCoy had a similar theory in Chapter 3 but he wasn't allowed to continue his pursuits at that moment. Perhaps something will happen in the future that will answer this question ;-) *wink wink* As for the Gestalt Arc, I can't say that I have read it. Feel free to post the link so that everyone can check it out! :-) I mean, who here doesn't enjoy a good X-men story!